Management of bulk product storage differs from management of the storage of unit products, such as discreet products like televisions, or pencils, in three key areas: measurement of the quantity of the stored product, and replenishment of the stored product, and participant roles.
Measuring the quantity of unit products stored requires inventorying the products that are to be managed. Televisions, chairs and the like may be readily inventoried as individual units. Other items may be inventoried in the packaging unit in which they are to be distributed and sold. Thus, an office supply distributor might inventory paper in units of pallets, a down chain office supply retailer might inventory the same paper in more convenient units of boxes, and the office manager of an end consumer office may inventory the same paper in reams. Significant is that each inventory unit is capable of being hand counted. Automated inventory management tools extend that capability.
Bulk products, such as oil, coal, or grain, are inherently inconvenient or impossible to measure by eye and require different inventory methods than counting definable units. Inventorying individual units is too arduous or impossible. Since, bulk products are often needed, and thus sold, in quantities of related to physical measurements, such as volume, and weight they are often inventoried as such using specialized equipment.
Replenishment of stores of bulk products are usually made by large delivery vehicles purpose built and maintained. Tanker trucks and fuel barges are common sights on roadways and waterways. These bulk product carriers are solely dedicated to transporting one product during that haul unlike carriers for unit products who may mix their cargo to reach maximum capacity. Thus, trucks or barges filled with unit products may transport several different products, such as furniture and televisions, until all usable cargo space has been filled. Mixing cargo increases the unit product carrier's efficiency and profit margin.
However, bulk product carriers are limited to transporting one bulk product during that haul. Additionally, health and safety regulations, issued by regulatory authorities, limit the ability of carriers to change the type of bulk product carried by individual pieces of equipment. Thus, for example, a carrier who places one a tanker truck in service for fuel oil may not subsequently use that truck for carrying milk or potable water. Consequently, bulk product carriers have a great need to increase the efficiency of their operations as well as managing the storage of bulk products.
Participant roles in the ownership and replenishment of bulk product stores may be often different than with those of unit quantities. Replenishment of unit quantities generally occurs at the request of the downstream purchaser. Complex business interrelationships between supplier and consumer, such as Just-In-Time delivery, have been employed to create greater efficiency in the delivery and replenishment process.
However, replenishment of a bulk product may not occur at the request of the downstream purchaser. Further, a bulk storage facility may be owned by a supplier, yet located on the property of the product consumer, such as the heating tank in a home that is supplied by a fuel dealer. In such instances, the home owner may simply have contracted to have a steady supply of heating oil delivered by the dealer. Thus, the home owner may never read the tank gauge and replenishment may occur at estimated intervals rather than when needed.
What is desired, therefore, is an effective system and method for remotely managing bulk product storage.